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1. Lacing Fingers Together 

Not just holding hands, actually interlacing them. It's a small physical detail that reads as far more deliberate and possessive than a loose hand-hold.

2. Nuzzling Into Their Neck or Hair 

Face pressed in, breathing them in for a second. Works especially well in a quiet moment after something stressful, when a character needs to physically ground themselves in the other person.

3. A Gentle Bite or Nip 

Lip, shoulder, ear, wherever fits the scene. Playful if the tone's light, charged if it's not.

4. Massaging Their Hands or Shoulders 

Practical and intimate at the same time. Great for a character who shows affection through action instead of words, since this lets them do something instead of saying it.

5. Tracing Idle Patterns on Their Skin 

Fingertips moving without any real purpose, along an arm, a palm, a shoulder. It signals comfort and closeness better than almost anything verbal could.

6. Running Fingers Through Their Hair 

This is the absent-minded kind of thing a character does without fully realizing it. Tip: this one's especially good for a scene where someone's comforting the other after a nightmare or a bad day.

7. Gripping Their Waist or Hip to Pull Them Closer 

Direct, a little urgent, and it closes distance fast in a way that reads as wanting rather than just affectionate. Could also substitute with belts, capes/cloaks, pockets, ties, collars and more.

8. Trailing Fingertips Down an Arm or Spine 

The key is to make this deliberately slow. This is a good one for tension-building specifically, since the anticipation of where the hand's going matters more than the touch itself.

9. Scratching Nails Lightly Down Their Back or Scalp 

Small, physical, and surprisingly underused given how much sensory detail it gives you to work with.

10. Pressing a Palm Flat Against Their Chest 

Feeling the heartbeat under their hand, whether from adrenaline or nerves. It's a small gesture that gives you a built-in excuse to describe how fast someone's heart is racing. Also works with the wrist or side of the neck for a more possessive scene. 

11. Brushing a Thumb Across Their Cheekbone 

Slow and deliberate, usually paired with a character just looking at the other for a beat too long.

12. Wiping Something Off Their FaceBlood, dirt, tears, doesn't matter. The act of gently cleaning someone up says care in a way dialogue rarely manages.

13. Tucking Hair Behind Their EarSmall, almost automatic, and very cute if the character doing it doesn't even seem to notice they're doing it. Similar actions would be holding back their open hair, or tying/braiding their hair when it keeps getting in the way.

14. Holding Their Face Without Kissing ThemThe almost-kiss that doesn't happen. Use this when you want the reader leaning forward in their seat, desperate for something that isn't coming yet. Pair it with their foreheads resting against each other, their eyes fluttering shut as they just breathe each other in. Works pretty well for goodbyes, or if they’re trying to steal a moment in public without too much PDA. 

15. Holding Eye Contact a Beat Too LongThe simplest one on this list and still one of the hardest to write well. It's all in the extra second that shouldn't be there but is.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

Grief doesn't always look like crying. Here are some ideas for how to realistically portray it outside of the ‘screaming, crying, throwing up’ phase.

1. Burying Themselves in Work or School: Suddenly the most productive they've ever been, taking on extra shifts, extra assignments, anything that keeps their hands and mind too busy to land on the actual loss.

2. Avoiding Anywhere That Reminds Them of the Person: A restaurant, a route they used to walk together, an entire side of town. They'll go out of their way and never explain why, and probably won't even clock it as avoidance themselves.

3. Refusing to Change Anything of Theirs: The room stays exactly as it was. The voicemail doesn't get deleted. Moving even one object can feel like erasing them, so nothing moves at all.

4. Overcompensating With Normalcy: Laughing a little too readily, insisting they're fine a little too often. This one's great for a character who thinks showing grief means burdening the people around them.

5. Picking Fights With People Trying to Help: Grief makes people prickly in strange directions. Someone offering comfort can genuinely feel unbearable, and lashing out is sometimes easier than admitting they need it.

6. Taking Care of Everyone Else's Grief Instead of Their Own: Comforting siblings, managing funeral logistics, checking in on everyone but themselves. Tip: this one's especially good for an oldest-sibling or caretaker-type character, since it lets them delay their own grief almost indefinitely.

7. Sudden Reckless Behavior: Driving too fast, drinking too much, taking risks they never would have before. It's less about wanting to get hurt and more about needing to feel something other than the numbness.

8. An Obsessive Need for Control: Rigid routines, excessive cleaning, rearranging things that don't need rearranging. When one massive thing feels completely out of their control, controlling everything else becomes the coping mechanism.

9. Talking About Them in Present Tense: "She loves this song," not "loved." A small grammatical slip that says more about where their head still is than an entire monologue would.

10. Taking Up Something the Person Loved: Picking up their guitar, rewatching their favorite show, cooking their recipes. It's a way of keeping them present without having to say out loud that they're gone.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

When character is angry:

Snapped

Spat

Snarled

Hissed

Barked

...or sad:

Choked

Mumbled

Managed

Croaked

Murmured

...or if they're feeling nervous:

Stammered

Babbled

Rambled

Muttered

Squeaked

...and even when flirting:

Coaxed

Purred

Teased

Hummed